Many parishioners and friends of the school will have already heard the sad news of Miss Mary Dolan’s death. Mary was a well-loved member of the infant staff in St Bartholomew’s Primary for many years and numerous people will have very fond memories of her as a dedicated teacher, supportive colleague and loyal friend. Mary retired from the school in 1993.

The Holy Rosary will be recited in Mary’s home (56 Coultar Avenue, Gartsherrie) at 8.00pm on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Mary’s body will be received into St Bartholomew’s Church at 6.30pm on Friday evening and her Requiem Mass will take place at 10.00am on Saturday morning.

Our school community will remember Mary during the first Prayer Service of the new session. This will take place this morning at 8.45am in the school oratory. All pupils, parents, staff and parishioners are very welcome to attend.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.

It’s only the third day back, but it has been exciting to see the boys and girls already taking their first steps on this year’s learning journey. As the old Chinese proverb says:

‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’

I was very impressed when I popped in to see our new Primary 1’s yesterday. They were writing their alphabet letters onto their whiteboards as if they’d been in Primary school for a whole term! I was also delighted to have a visit from two Primary 4/3 pupils who brought down their ‘maths mobile’ to show me. They had been practising counting up in 10’s and their colourful mobile is now hanging in the classroom as evidence of their super mathematical talents!

If you are a daily blog reader, you’ll be delighted to hear about a new addition to our website. Each class now has their own blog page which they will use to showcase some of the things they are learning in class. However, please be patient – this is a new venture for staff (and pupils) and it will take a bit of time to master the skill of posting information online. However, our plan is to have the class pages properly up and running by the end of this term. I see that Primary 7 have already been busy – their page now has a fantastic photograph on it and several comments from some of the pupils. You can have a look for yourself by clicking on the ‘learning pencil’ at the bottom of the homepage, then on Primary 7.

Well done P7!… and good luck everyone on your learning journey this year!

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”
(Greg Anderson, American author)